State Park camping

[merrykalia]

Around here in the mountains, most state parks don't close until the end of October and sometimes later. Our local one closes December 1 and re opens the first Saturday in March. Quite often, there is snow on the ground when it closes and when it opens.

[Arctic Wolf]

We're hoping to catch the fall colors

[rcstroll]

We always try to stay at a State Park.... we found that for the most part, they offer great nature camping and spacious sites. Our home State of NC has some tremendous State parks...

[kcmusa]

We have been staying at state parks also, love them, always clean and well run.
Now it seems I have another to compete with here in VA for sites.
MD has some nice parks also, check out point lookout, full hookups in the shade or electric on the water.

[B D HOWie]

Point Lookout in Scotland, MD has lots of things to do. Unfortunately it is swampy in the camp areas so bugs are terrible in warm weather and water stands near the sites. Also, had poison ivy and briers near camp site. The FHU loop does not have a bath house. The other loop we were in did have a nice bath house but, still wet, low and buggy. We have not found any other camp in the area (not military).
We stay at Pohick Bay Regional in Va. only a few FHU and some additional W/E sites, several electric only, even a couple new cabin sites. Cost is $35-49 depending on residence and hookups.
Convenient for us to see grandchildren so higher cost is justified. Also a water park is open between Memorial and Labor Days.
Paul

[Restcure]

We live in Ontario about an hour from the border with NYS. We're big fans of the parks there - they're easier to get into than Ontario parks, usually have more amenities, and even with the $5 premium for out-of-staters and the exhange rates, they're cheaper too!

We've stayed at Cedar Point, Coles Creek (4 times), Green Lakes (twice as of May 2018), Higley Flow (4 times), Kring Point, Long Point, Robert Moses, Watkins Glen (twice), Wellesley Island (twice) and Westcott Beach (twice).

[KansasJohn]

Here in Missouri I stay almost exclusively in state parks. I prefer dry camping, but almost every Missouri state park I have been in has some sites that have 30 and/or 50 amp electric available. I prefer the quiet, privacy, and "natural" aspect of state parks versus commercial campgrounds.

That being said, on my bi-annual longer trips, I will stay in commercial campgrounds if they are convenient to a site that I'm visiting. For example, I stayed in a commercial campground this past summer in Duluth, MN because I wanted to see several sites in Duluth, and wanted to be closer than the closest state park offered. But I have to at least have some grass and a fire pit!

[Retired JSO]

Living in NE Florida, we have been set up in many Florida and Georgia State Parks. Being over the hill, Florida residents get half off and out of staters in Georgia get a discount too if you are SS age. Between the 2 states, we find a cool place in the summer and a warm place in the winter to enjoy camping year round.

[DavidBo]

We're a big fan of Texas State Parks. The one's we've stayed in have always been very clean and well operated and, like the OP, were lacking sewer hookups. We did fine with just the tanks, the outside shower was very useful at getting all the Gulf of Mexico water and sand out of the dog's fur without having to worry about a full grey tank. Even though we were pretty good at limiting our indoor water usage, after a few days I had to wheel out the old honey-pot and drain a few gallons of shower water.
There's an annual pass available for Texas parks, well worth the initial expense for frequent travelers considering the discounts available.

[BooBoo23]

Here is all the information about Texas state parks.
https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/

Here in Georgia a few of the state parks have a limited number of FHU campsites and cable TV has been added to some. Reed Bingham state park near Adel GA has one loop with 18 FHU sites and cable TV, WIFI at or near the office. I think there are 5 of the state parks with some FHU's. And some of the state parks have site specific reservations available rather then just find an empty site when you get there.


Here is a link to a web site with info on all the state parks in the USA
https://wandrlymagazine.com/article/...g-state-parks/
Pretty complete showing which have FHU, cable, when they close and open for the season. Very good listing, some info may be out of date. For example I don't think Georgia has a "Snowbird Special" this year like they did for a few years. Check the comment about generator use in Wisconsin state parks.

[ernest917]

I did notice this past summer that most state parks in the NE have NO hookups... Some might have elec but very few have water/sewer.... My guess is because of the brutal winters....

[18CrewDually]

Originally Posted by ernest917

I did notice this past summer that most state parks in the NE have NO hookups... Some might have elec but very few have water/sewer.... My guess is because of the brutal winters....

NJ has NO hookups in any of their state parks. Plenty of large sites in the parks I've been in but the state never ran power or water.

[MacGumbo]

In order, we prefer, State parks, Army corps, National parks, Recreation areas. We have been to some KOA's and private parks but they are too much like camping in a commercial area and their pricing is higher.

[Crusadernoob]

LOVE our state parks, as a matter of fact, we love the surroundings states parks also, can't beat them!

[Dennis and Julie]

I love our state parks in North Dakota, all but a couple have water and electricity and many have now upgraded some site to full service. 😃😃

[formerFR]

We have enjoyed State Parks along our travels, but we really enjoy the more 'regional' or 'local' parks.

Some are municipal parks, ran by the city or county, and rarely are found online - we either accidentally ran by them, heard about them by chance, or found them on google maps or deep down within a City or County website. We found one in N GA that is one of those, with it's municipal campground, surrounded by it's huge lake, out on a peninsula unto itself, with almost every site on the lake itself. While it doesn't have sewer at the sites, and most are 30amp with water, it can be a destination unto itself! At $17 per nite, or $250 per month... it's a steal, and yet very few folks know about it. Because the municipality runs it, in this case the County Commissioner's office, there is no advertisements for it, it has no website, it doesn't even have any signs when you even arrive at the campground. We stayed there the month of October this year... what a pleasure! Right on the water, shade trees all around, great cell service, hardly ANYONE else within eyesight or earshot... and the month of October when ALL of the happenings happen!

We also found several 'regional' parks - once most recently south of St Petersburg, Florida. A beautiful palm-tree filled campground surrounded by water, beaches, views of the Skyway bridge, and right near downtown! It's very full during much of the year because so many locals know about it, and receive a 'local' resident discount, but even us out-of-staters get to get a site once in a blue moon! Nice. 50a with water, swaying palm trees, fishing off your back deck, and since it's own it's own island, no 'downtown' traffic noise. At $30 per nite, it was hard to pass up, though getting in is a different story in itself. They open up the Online site only on Friday mornings at 7am sharp... for those few 'walk up' reservable sites that are restricted to this format. If you don't click your mouse within a few seconds, you're gonna be camping somewhere else, unless you're planning to camp here in five or six months!

[TheWolfPaq82]

Originally Posted by ernest917

I did notice this past summer that most state parks in the NE have NO hookups... Some might have elec but very few have water/sewer.... My guess is because of the brutal winters....

There are a few with full Electric an Water, but yeah, our winters make if difficult and all those lines need to be blown out before the freeze sets in.
Bellevue, NE.